Word.ws English Dictionary

damask

/ˈdæm.əsk/

damask noun: an ornate silk fabric originating from Damascus.

damask: an ornate silk fabric originating from Damascus
Image: Daderot, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

damask (countable and uncountable, plural damasks)

  1. An ornate silk fabric originating from Damascus.
    • True damasks are pure silk.
    • […]but what struck Tom's fancy most was a strange, grim-looking, high backed chair, carved in the most fantastic manner, with a flowered damask cushion, and the round knobs at the bottom of the legs carefully tied up in red cloth, as if it had got the gout in its toes.1836 March – 1837 October, Charles Dickens, “(please specify the chapter name)”, in The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1837, →OCLC
  2. Linen so woven that a pattern is produced by the different directions of the thread, without contrast of colour.
  3. A heavy woolen or worsted stuff with a pattern woven in the same way as the linen damask; made for furniture covering and hangings.
    • Thus the red damask curtains which now shut out the fog-laden, drizzling atmosphere of the Marylebone Road, had cost a mere song, and yet they might have been warranted to last another thirty years. A great bargain also had been the excellent Axminster carpet which covered the floor; as, again, the...1913, Mrs. [Marie] Belloc Lowndes, chapter I, in The Lodger, London: Methuen, →OCLC; republished in Novels of Mystery: The Lodger; The Story of Ivy; What Really Happened, New York, N.Y.: Longmans...
  4. Damascus steel.
  5. The peculiar markings or water of such steel.
  6. A damask rose, Rosa × damascena.
  7. A grayish-pink color, like that of the damask rose.
    • Thursday. D. certainly improved. Better night. Slight tinge of damask revisiting cheek.1849 May – 1850 November, Charles Dickens, The Personal History of David Copperfield, London: Bradbury & Evans, […], published 1850, →OCLC

Adjective (1)

damask (comparative more damask, superlative most damask)

  1. Of a grayish-pink colour, like that of the damask rose.
    • But let concealment, like a worm i' the bud, / Feed on her damask cheekc. 1601–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Twelfe Night, or What You Will”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
    • They had a lurking suspicion even, that he died of secret love; though I must say there was a picture of him in the house with a damask nose, which concealment did not appear to have ever preyed upon.1849 May – 1850 November, Charles Dickens, The Personal History of David Copperfield, London: Bradbury & Evans, […], published 1850, →OCLC

Verb

damask (third-person singular simple present damasks, present participle damasking, simple past and past participle damasked)

  1. To decorate or weave in damascene patterns
    • Madame de Mercœur had herself arranged her dress, which was splendid white silk, damasked with silver flowers; but it was with much internal misgiving that she put on the graceful cap and plume.1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter II, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 19

Adjective (2) capitalized: Damask

Damask (comparative more Damask, superlative most Damask)

  1. Relating to, or originating at, the city of Damascus.

damask meaning in Arabic and Persian

damask in Arabic

fabric
فِرِنْد firind
peculiar markings on Damascus steel
فِرِنْد firind

damask in Persian

fabric
پرنیان parniyân, پرند parand, کمخا kamxâ, kemxâ
peculiar markings on Damascus steel
پرند parand

Examples of damask in a sentence

  • Thus the red damask curtains which now shut out the fog-laden, drizzling atmosphere of the Marylebone Road, had cost a mere song, and yet they might have been warranted to last another thirty years.1913, Mrs. [Marie] Belloc Lowndes, chapter I, in The Lodger, London: Methuen, →OCLC; republished in Novels of Mystery: The Lodger; The...
  • My cage has many rooms / Damask and dark / Nothing there sings, / Not even my lark.1973, Stephen Sondheim, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street:

Forms of damask

Noun
pluraldamasks
Adjective
comparativemore damask
superlativemost damask
comparativemore Damask
superlativemost Damask
Verb
third-person singular presentdamasks
present participledamasking
past participledamasked
pastdamasked

Origin of damask

From Middle English damaske, from Medieval Latin damascus, named after the city Damascus, where the fabric was originally made.

Words formed from damask

Phrases with damask

Questions about damask

What does damask mean?
Damask means an ornate silk fabric originating from Damascus.
What is damask in Arabic?
Damask in Arabic is فِرِنْد (firind). See Damask meaning in Arabic.
How do you use damask in a sentence?
Thus the red damask curtains which now shut out the fog-laden, drizzling atmosphere of the Marylebone Road, had cost a mere song, and yet they might have been warranted to last another thirty years.
What part of speech is damask?
Damask can be a noun, an adjective or a verb.
How do you pronounce damask?
Damask is pronounced /ˈdæm.əsk/ (UK).
What is the plural of damask?
The plural of damask is damasks.

Words near damask in the dictionary

  1. Damascus barrels
  2. Damascus rose
  3. damascus steel
  4. Damascus steels
  5. Damases
  6. damask
  7. damask plum
  8. damask plums
  9. damask rose
  10. damask roses
  11. Damask steel

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: damask (page history and authors); Damask (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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